Rugby with Visitors from Across the Pond

Elly Visits!

Miss Eleanor Jones and I were reunited after two years, so what did we do? Eat crêpes and watch rugby of course!

Crêpes

We went to le Petit Josselin, a crêperie near where I work with the best crêpes in Paris. Notice how large the crêpes are... and the waiters are always baffled when I don't want to have a dessert crêpe.

Rugby!

France vs New Zealand at the Stade de France! To work off our crêpes, we decided to go watch other people play rugby.

Elly and me at the Stade de France











The first rugby match I ever saw was France vs New Zealand in November 2011--things have really come full circle!

In case you were wondering, the stadium holds just over 81,000 people and is the 5th largest stadium in Europe.  Not bad, Paris, not bad.

 Tourist Day!

Many of you know that I am rather a reluctant tourist, which is ironic since I travel so much.  Thank goodness Elly was there to drag me to all the sights!

Elly and me in front of Notre Dame.

Miraculously, it was a sunny day!  London always gets the reputation for a rainy city, but I think that Paris could give it a run for its money given the amount of rain and gray skies we have had.

I even went inside Notre Dame! I hadn't been inside since I was ten years old, despite the fact that I have lived in Paris for 5 cumulative months (study abroad included).

And, no Dad, I did not go up the tower.  The line was really long again! :)











To end our really long day of touristing, Elly and I went to go see the Louvre at night.  The government keeps all the national monuments lit for a few hours just after the night falls and it is really breathtaking.

New Apartment (well, a converted maid's bedroom)

In France, there is a lovely thing called a chambre de bonne -- literally, a maid's room.  Many older buildings in Paris have a top floor devoted to "maids' chambers" which nowadays are largely rented by students and, sometimes, by poor American college graduates.

Here is my chambre de bonne; it is 11 square meters (or 118 square feet)

 Here is my fold-down table/kitchenette area.

Yes, that is my refrigerator underneath the microwave.  And yes, I have one burner--so it's an upgrade from college.

My bed and the lovely shelves above it-- I may not have much space, but they did hook me up with tons of shelves! 

Again, my kitchen area and my full-length mirror! So necessary.  And just to the left of the mirror is my shower-- yep I have my own shower.



However, I do share my toilet with the other 4 girls on the floor (literally, just a room with a toilet in it).  Hence the small black cup with my toothbrush and toothpaste in it.  Can you spot the small black cup??

Guided Tour of Montmartre

Montmartre View/History

Yesterday I went on a guided tour of Montmartre, a very artsy section of Paris on top of a large hill that has retained its 19th century village charm.  

 

 

Sacre Coeur

Sacre Coeur, the beautiful church that sits on top of the hill in Montmartre.  We got the chance to walk inside (no photos allowed) and there was a bishop giving mass at the same time.

Traces of the Past 

When Haussman rebuilt Paris in the 1860s, Montmartre was relatively untouched since construction was so difficult on such a large hill.  As a result, many streets in Montmartre look like this one (although now many are full of tourist traps as well).

The Moulin de la Galette 

The Moulin de la Galette was a working windmill in the 19th century.  There is a cafe underneath it that used to be very lively and attract a fun-loving crowd.

Renoir captured the spirit of this duo in his painting, Bal du Moulin de la Galette 

The famous Moulin Rouge!
Strangely enough, it is surrounded by fast food places and a bustling, modern city center. 

First Weeks in Paris

Orientation activity on Omaha beach (Normandy) 

We built sandcastles as a teambuilding activity and then took a picture together! (I'm wearing a red scarf center-right)

American cemetary in Normandy

The cemetery where all the casualties of the Normandy campaign are buried (D-Day included).

Some of the graves still have fresh flowers put on them and there were a fair amount of visitors when we went on Friday afternoon.